THREE
by mifurita
Summary: Set after the season 2 finale, Exit Wounds! Ianto worries about the future and grieves for the team's loses.


Non for profit Fan fiction, Torchwood isn't mine.

Warning- SPOLIERS FOR SEASON 2 FINALE Exit Wounds!!

Summary: Ianto worries about the future of the Team and grieves their loses...

Reason: That last image of the remaining three filled me with dread! This is what I was thinking at the time..

**THREE**

By Mifurita

So Owen was dead. Again. It wouldn't have been so bad if Tosh hadn't gone with him.

That left Jack. And Gwen.

Not good.

That left the team with to many heroes and not enough technical knowledge. That left_ him_ on the outside.. no, that was personal. Personal wasn't important. It never was. Or at least _his _personal wasn't important.

Right.

Ianto's eyes closed briefly, he took a calming breath and focused back on the computer screen.

They needed technies. Computer and medical. People that Jack could 'discover' like he'd discovered the rest of the team. The original team. That last team. Jack had had hundreds over the years. Ianto read the files, he knew what Jack looked for, what he needed to trust his people. It maybe would have been easier if Ianto had seen those files before _he'd_ gotten on the team, his courtship of Torchwood Three, his courtship of Jack. It wouldn't work now, with only the three of them. It was over.

Another breath. Short, firm. His hands splayed across the keyboard, grounding, taking control. He would find new people and things would go on. That's what happened, day after day. The world went _on._ Ianto would find the right people and lead Jack to them. Jack would trust them because Jack had 'discovered' them and the team would go on and maybe Jack _wouldn't_.

Three wasn't enough.

_This_ three would to easily become two. And then what would Ianto do?

Leslie Saleed. Neurosurgeon. Retconed in 2001 after Torchwood Two used her skills to save a visiting dignitary. History of mental illness, her therapist believes to be some kind of post traumatic stress. Ianto could read between the lines. The Retcon hadn't taken. She was remembering. A confused, brilliant woman in need of the truth, in need of saving. Needing to fit in. Jack would love her. He tagged the file and continued on.

Danal Weston. Theoretical science. London. Lost his family during the Cyberman/Dalek invasion after Torchwood One.. Ianto was tempted to delete him. He didn't need the reminder.. but Jack would trust him. Smart, tragic and just enough guilt to get Jack's attention. A survivor. Jack would need _some_ choices. He tagged the file.

Next Harriett Latner, Maths at Oxford. Lived through a school wide parasitic invasion that authorities had written off as particularly bad cases of food poisoning.

Geetha Habib. Ex-special forces, doctorate in forensic science. Lost her brother to the Rift two years ago, still searching.

Isabelle Lawrence child genius, hacker. Recruited by UNIT right out of university. Had a run in with the Doctor in 1999.

He tagged twelve in all. All with the right combination of talent, otherworldly experiences and just that touch of guilt to get to Jack.

Martha Jones was coming at the end of the week. Just for a week or two to help out. Ianto was no Tosh, but he knew things.

God he was going to miss Tosh. As close to a friend as he'd had in years, even though she'd never noticed. If it wasn't work then it was her insane crush on Owen, who only showed her the smallest kindness _after _he'd died. The first time. Some of the things he used to _say _to her! Point blank, right in her face.. and still she moused along after him. Self esteem so low she took the outright rejections in place of companionship.

Would he end up that way? Just the three of them left and Jack and Gwen hurting so bad.. Gwen didn't handle stress well. It only took a human cannibal to send her into Owens' arms, betraying her longtime, live-in lover. It only took a glance at a Weevil and then a Jack-sighting to get her on the team.

She didn't fit the profile. But Jack had brought her onboard. Jack liked her and she'd already proven her feelings for Rhys was not enough to keep her loyalty.

Oh God, he couldn't stand to lose him too. To have lost Lisa and Tosh and even Owen and nothing was the same anymore and he wouldn't be able to.. be able to _watch _while Jack..

Breath. He blinked into the computer screen's glare until his eyes dried. Another breath and he was back in control.

He had the files. They'd get more people and there'd be.. distractions. The world would go on. There'd be Weevils and energy beings and Jack wouldn't stand so close to Gwen anymore. He wouldn't spontaneously wrap her in his arms and stand there in the center of the achingly empty Hub just holding her. He wouldn't have to bring them comfort coffee and stand there unnoticed, watching them, until the smell reminded Jack that he was there. He wouldn't have to retreat back to his quiet corner after Jack dismissed him, still _watching _ them.

He hadn't been to Jack's office in days. Jack hadn't said more then a couple of words to him in days. Jack was 'being there' for Gwen. Gwen went home and Rhys was there for her. Jack left the Hub and didn't come back until dawn, everyday. Ianto slept in the Hub because Jack had stopped.

He really wished Tosh was still here. They hadn't talked much. But just having her there helped. Just looking up and knowing she would understand if he could ever get his mouth to open up long enough.. Gwen had packed up her belongings. They were in the vault now. Jack hadn't needed him to clear out their flats. He'd told him that. Point blank, right to his face. Jack had done it, or maybe Jack _and Gwen_. He was Jack's man, his second. He held the gun, he knew the secrets, he cleared up, he filled away the deceased. But not this time.

Three people. A third wheel. Two's a couple, three was a crowd..

He was sitting at Tosh desk. Using Tosh's computer to look for a replacement Tosh. Lord. He'd already inventoried Owen's lab. He couldn't sleep, wondering where Jack went at night. He knew Gwen went home, to Rhys. The Hub was so quiet now. It wasn't much better during the day, but now just after three in the morning, with even the pterodactyl asleep, with the computer muted and the only sounds his fingers lightly touching the keys and his own breathing.. He remembered the nights he'd spent researching for Lisa, looking for a way into Torchwood Two and the resources to save her. The nights filled with the soft sounds of his patiently typing fingers and the soft beep of her scavenged life support and the jagged rasp of his own breathing.

It wasn't that bad this time. It wasn't. Lisa had been his only friend, his only, his _first_ love. He'd lost two people and it wasn't that bad. If he lost the third, then he'd be in trouble. So he wasn't going to. He had the files. He would visit the 'applicates.' He would set something up and Jack would come across them during the next couple of weeks. He'd run into them while chasing Weevils, he'd follow an energy spike and find a Rift relic in their buildings, he'd hear rumors of a brilliant and resourceful hacker _just_ when he needed one and the team would fill back out and Ianto wouldn't be so lonely anymore.

The world would go on and maybe Ianto's would to.

END.


End file.
